Many women are concerned about getting enough calcium in their diets to protect
against bone-weakening osteoporosis later in life, and some are turning to dairy
products to supply that calcium. But, increasingly dairy consumption may not be the
right solution. In fact, dairy food may even contribute to osteoporosis.

How can it be that Americans consume more milk than people in many other countries
do, yet our fracture rates are very high? Scandinavians devour enormous amounts of
mil, and their fracture rate is the worst in the world. Asian countries, on the other
hand, use very little dairy food, yet they have very low fracture rates. The average
calcium intake is less than 300 milligrams per day in Singapore, and the fracture
rate there is one-fifth that of the U.S.

Evidence indicates that bones become weak because of overly rapid calcium loss,
not inadequate intake, and the loss seems to be due to high protein diets. Research
has found that meat-eaters lose over twice the calcium each day than vegetarians.

Not only is milk not a solution to osteoporosis, it may cause a more serious problem
- epidemiological studies have shown that dairy product us is linked with higher
breast cancer rates. One survey of Seventh Day Adventists found that the more dairy
a woman consumed, the higher her risk of breast cancer.

There are several factors that, when added up, could explain why milk might cause
breast cancer.

A pregnant cow produces extra estrogen which ends up in her milk, and excess
estrogen is known to make breast cancer cells multiply

Fat in milk causes the release of excess estrogen in the woman's body

The body uses fiber to eliminate estrogen, and milk contains no fiber.

Mother's milk, either human or cow, helps the tiny baby to grow rapidly. It may
be that the growth factors in milk, such as insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), are
encouraging the growth of cancer cells. In test tube studies, IGF-1 was found to
accelerate the growth of breast cancer cells, and this compound may be more potent
than estrogen in this regard. Bovine growth hormone (BGH) is now being given to cows
to boost their milk production, as well as the dairy farmers' profits, and cows receiving
BGH produce two to four times more IGF-1 than normal.

Finally, milk contains pesticides and industrial pollutants. Breast cancer deaths
declined in Israel when three carcinogens found in Israeli milk were banned.